Treatsie Tuesdays! (Summer Blueberry Clafouti)

Two years ago, I fell in love with those blue beauties. They officially became my favorite fruit. And I did absolutely everything I could to get my hands on the plumpest, most blue-licious berries.

I drove quite a ways to a farm that had acres of open blues – berries and skies that is. There was nobody to tell you, ‘You can only pick on this bush’ or ‘Please stay in this row.’ There were just hundreds upon hundreds of bushes of this delightful fruit, and I could frolic about however I pleased.

I would go real early in the morning, when there was still that teasing chill in the air before the afternoon heat came. The ground would be dew-drenched and the dirt would stick to my toes. There were birds and chipmunks all feasting away while I happily scoured the bush for the ripest blues. (And the purple ones, too. Andy loves the purple ones.) I love looking up through the branches and seeing the sun rays beam in, seeing a cluster of bright blue fruit.

I would spend hours in that field – just me. And God. And fruit. It was an opportunity to be alone with Him. It was my time to sift through my thoughts and talk to my Jesus about life and ask what He’s up to. I didn’t mind that the sun would begin to beat on my shoulders. I didn’t mind that my feet and knees were sore. I didn’t mind that it took time to fill my bucket. I just wanted to be. There. In that place. With no worries. No distractions. Just be.

I’ve held the love for blueberry picking ever since. I go fairly frequently – we are never short of that precious berry! (Except in February, when we’ve finally used the last bag from the freezer.)

I have so many blueberry recipes, but I wanted to try something new. Something I’ve never ventured in before. Something that sounds sort of like a sneeze. It’s … Clafouti. It’s French. It’s lovely. You’ll dig it.

Clafouti is sort of like a creamy custardy pudding-like pie. But there is no crust. Just fruit and batter. It’s a very simple treat. So simple, I’m not quite sure that it is dessert or breakfast. But either way – it’s delightful.

Grab just a little bit of butter, I think I used a teaspoonish, and grease a cake pan with it.

Next, take a Tablespoon of sugar and sprinkle it all around your buttered pan.

Now, line the bottom of the pan with your blueberries! Or any other chosen fruit for that matter. I actually decided to jazz things up a little, and I layered some apricot slices on the bottom. I thought apricots and blues would go nicely together. Plus, the color combo is quite endearing.

Can you see the apricots peeking through the berries? It’s like a lovely little surprise.

Now you’re going to want to mix up your batter.

Add your eggs, milk, flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla to a bowl. (Just so you know, I mostly only have skim milk in the fridge. This recipe calls for whole milk. So I decided to use 2/3 skim milk and 1/3 half and half. Because that’s how I fly in my kitchen… by the seat of my pants).

Beat this all together until everything looks relatively cohesive. Mine still had a few lumps of flour in it. No biggie.

Very gently, pour the batter over the fruit studded pan. You want to try and keep the fruit where it is, and not dislodge them so they’re floating all about.

Throw it in a 325 degree oven for about 35 minutes. Let it rest for about 20 minutes longer. Then you’ll have Clafouti.

When it’s all rested, sprinkle the top with powdered sugar. Yum!

Ta da! Clafouti.(Excuse me.)

Cut yourself off a slice of this dainty little treat. The flavor is simple, with a slight sweetness. The apricot-blueberry mixture was delightful. You may even want to give an eentsie drizzle of maple syrup over top, or honey, or agave … just to kick it up a notch. Play around with it! Could be great with cinnamon added to the batter next time around. Mmm.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8″ round baking pan. Sprinkle the bottom and sides of the pan with the tablespoon of granulated sugar to coat evenly.

Place the blueberries in an even layer on the bottom of the pan.

In your food processor (or blender), blend the eggs, milk, flour, vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, and the remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar until smooth. Very slowly and very carefully, pour the liquid over the blueberries. (Try not to dislodge them.) Sprinkle the almond pieces evenly over the top of the dish.

Bake the clafouti until puffed and cooked through, about 35 minutes. Don’t worry – it will deflate when you take it out of the oven. Let it cool for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.